Wind motor



Nov. 29, 1927. 1,651,067

o. J. NITARDY wmv MOTOR Filed Jan. 25. 192s 2 sheets-sheet 2 PatentedNov. 29, 1927.

earl-:1N 'r Yortica.

i GTTG J. NITARDY, GF (MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

WIND MOTOR'.

.pplication'sled January 23, 1926. Serial N0. 83,302.

This inventionrelates to wind motors or wind mills adapted tov generatea large amount of power.

It is the main object of the invention to provide a simple but highly.etlicient device by which wind power can be utilized to the bestadvantage.

lt is a further object ot the'invention to provide a wind. motor havinga revoluble frame to which are revolubly mounted a. plurality ofcircumierentially' spaced wings operatively connected'with mechanism forrevolving the same' as the frame revolves whereby said wings willal'iif'aysv be held in the most advantageous position with; respect tothe'direction, of the wind. I Y.

Another object of the invention is to provide meansfi'n the form of aVvaneA for automatically adjusting said wingsand maintainv ing thesaine'in proper position according to the direction of the wind. t

It is another 'object of the invention to provide in such' a windmotor', comprising a frame revoluble-on a fixed axis and carrying y aplurality of circumterentially spaced rev'- oluble win-gs automaticallyVadjusted andV held into the wind-bymeans of a vane'swingable on the`axis of said frame, eiiicient mechanism for revolving'the several 'wingswith the revolution of saidv frame. so that each wing in its orbitdescribed about the axis ofV the iframe: will bev acted, upon the windthrough approximately three-tourths oti'tsorbit to assist in revolvingsaidl frame; in other words, in proper positiontoreceive the wind sothat 4the wind will have a pulling or pushing action thereon.

It is a stilll furtherA object ofthe invention to provide in such adevice a governor. adapted to lessen the wind desistance of" the vanewhereby the eihcienoy of the device will-be slightly lowered when thespeed ofthel frame has reached a certain point.

It is: a more specific object to provide in such a device a revolubletrame, several.1 sets of circumferentially spaced wings arranged indifferent angular positions relative to each other at all times,andoperating-mechanism adapted to revolve Veach ot said wings throughone-halt"l of a revolution as said frame revolves through a `fullrevolution, said mechanism being operated by the revolution ot saidframe.

These and other .objects ot the invention willbe apparent from thefollowingdescription made in connection with the accompanying drawings,wherein like characters refer to similar parts throughout the severalviews, and in which Figure 1 is a. vertical section of, an embodif mentof the invention,

FigureQ is a somewhat diagrammatical .cross section on the line 2-2 ofFigure 1,

showing the different angular positions of the several wings throughoutthe quadrants of revolution of the trame, the directions of revolutionsbeing indicatedV by; means of v arrows, v

Figure 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3 8' of 'Figure l, showingthe mecha.- nism for revclving the several wing-s,

Figure 4 is a'l vertical section taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 1.,illustrating the construction of the vane,y c

Figure 5 is a cross section onv alarger sca-le taken on the line 5=5 ofFigure 1f, illustrating the construction of one. of the wings, and MFigure 61 is a vertical' section takenl on the linev-G of Figure 1,showing the construe@ tion of the governing mechanism. f Inthe drawingsa suitable support in the form ot. a. concrete base or housing isindiacated by the numeral 7, having embedded ad,- jacent thesidesthereof, the upright supports 8 circumferentially arranged. y Inthe` drawings. l uprights are shown supporting they radially extendingbeams 9- intersecting at a central point. Stays or other bracing members10 are provided secured at their upper y endsto uprights 8;

A revolubleV-trame is mounted' on support 7, comprising a verticalshattll, j ournaled in vertical. bearings 12 andl, mounted on the.intersecting portions of beams 9, and the vformed radial arms 16,arrangedy parallel with saidV lower set of arms are rigidly secured toshaft 11l at some distance above arms 14 b v means ot the collar 17.Upright members 18 connect the Outer ends of the corresponding upper andlower radial arms bracing the saine and forming a strong "iframe capableot revolution about the axis oi" shaft 11. Y l-lorizontally extendingtie rods 18a connect the several upper and lower kradial arms 16' and 14respectively.,l strengthening the revoluble frame and serving tomaintain the radial arms in proper position. A thrust bearing is formedbetween the under side of collar 15 and the upper horizontal surface ofbearing 13, said parts having a circular race cut therein to accommodateball bearings 19.

In the drawings the frame is shown as made up of four pairs of raidially extending; arms, although lany desired number may be used, each ofsaid pairs of arms having threel revoluble wings journaled therebetweenwith their axes disposed parallel to the axis of shaft 13. It will benoticed (see Figure 2) that all of these wings form three separate setsof circumferentially spaced wind receiving' members disposed about theaxis of the revoluble frame. Each of wings 2O is secured to a. verticalpivot member 20L the upper end of which is journaled in one of aplurality of bearings 21, projecting therethrough and having fortyfivedegree bevelled gears 22 rigidly secured to the upper extremity thereof.Suitable thrust bearings 2Ob are provided on arms 14 for the lower endsof pivot members 20.v

The main shaft 11 of the frame is equipped at its lower end with apulley X adapted to be connected by a belt Y or other device to a pump,generator or other mechanism to be driven.

A vane is provided comprising` a relatively large substantiallyrectangular blade 23 pivotally mounted for vertical swinging movementwithin a similarly shaped frame;

24. vBlade 23 is. formed by twosheets or plates secured ltogether attheir horizontal edges and also'sec-ured to a horizontally eX- tendingpivot member 25 (see Figure 4). The vertical ysleeve 26 is rigidlysecured to the inner side of frame 24. and is journaled on the upperportion of shaft 13. Sleeve 26 terminates at its lower end in an annularbearing surface 26, provided with a circular race which in cooperationwith the upper surfaceof bearing 17, forms a thrust bearing containingball bearings 27. The lower end of sleeve 26 is cast to form a45 degreebeveled gear 28 on the upper side of the thrust bearing 26a. Thisbevelled gear engages a plurality of smaller forty-five degree bevelledgears 29 (fourin number as illustrat'ed), each rigidly secured to theinner end of a radially and horizontally extending shaft ,30 journaledin. brackets 30FL mounted on the top of each of upper radial arms 16.AShafts 30 are thus mounted in alignment with the several pairs ofradialarms andare each equipped with three horizontally spaced forty-fivedegree bevelled gears 31, each of saidY gears being meshed with Vone ofthe gearsl 22 at the upperends of the wing pivots 20a.' AThe ratio ofgears 23 and 29 is 2 to 1,

respectively,`while the ratio of gears 3l vand 22 is 1 to 4respectively. Thus it will be seen that since gear 28 ismaintainedpractically stationary by means ofthe vane, the

wings 20 will be revolved by the movement of the revoluble frame.through one-half a revolution for every complete revolution of saidframeand will be revolved inthe opposite direction from the revolution ofsaid frame. It will also be noticed that the relative positions of theseveral wings 2 0 will be .automatically set or changed' before theframe starts to revolve by the position of vane 23, the direction of thewind, of course, determining the position of said vane.

To prevent the frame from revolving at too fast a speed anefficientgovernor mechanism is provided. This consists of a pair of flyball levers 32 pivoted to the outer ends ofva yoke 33 rigidly securedadjacent theY upper end of shaft 1.1,.u The inwardly eX- tendingworking/ends of fly ball levers 32 are seated in a vertically movableshipper ring 34, which limits the upward movement of a verticallyslidable arm 35 provided with i i an annular portion slidable on shaft11, and.

limited in downward movement by the upper end of sleeve 26. The outer'endY of arm 35 is pivotally secured to the swingable blade 23 of thevane by means of a depending link 36 having its lower end pivoted tooutwardly projected lug 37 vrigidly secured:Y to an intermediate portionof the vane blade. It will thus be f seen that as the revoluble frameincreases'in speed iiyball levers 32 will be impelled outwardly bycentrifugal force, causing the shipper ring 34 to be raisedand therebypermitting the Avane blade 23 to swing'slightly open into the wind. Thewind resistance of the vane 'will thus be lowered and the several wings20 willnotV be held directly against the( wind and will thereby causethe mot-or to slightly lessen.l its speed.

As illustrated in Figuren, each of the wings 2O comprises ai pair ofsubstantially rectangular plates secured 'together adjacent theirvertical sides, ,andhav'ing their central V portions secured togetherthrough the vertif cal pivot members/or shafts 20a.Y ItV will be noticedthat the vertical edges ofthe several wings 2O are curved or bent inreversedilll?) rections at each side thereof, thereby form ingOperation.

The operation of the above described device maybe briefly summarized asfollows:

As shown inFigure 2, three sets of cir- By shaping the lwin gs in.

resine? fcumferentially spaced rrevoluble 4wings 20 mounted. 'lihere thewings are mounted on,v

four radial arms `each successive wing in a set `is disposed relativetoits adjacent 'wing at an angle of forty-five degrees. lf six radialarms were employed the wings would vbe successivelyarranged in lthirty`degree relation, the vobject being to revolve the wings through ahalf-revolution every' complete revolution of the revoluble frame'.

Assuming 'that the wind is Vblowing from the left tothe right asindicated in Figure '2 by the straight arrow-s, the wings onone of thearms disposed normal to the wind will also be disposed -normal tothewind. These 'wings will be revolved in the reverse direction to theframe to a position parallel with the wind when the vframe has beenswung through vone vhundred and eighty degrees, so that as the'severalwings are swung into the wind they will have little or no resistance'thereto.` Similar to a sail boat taclring against the wind, the wingsthroughout approximately three-fourths of their orbit about the axis ofthe shaft 1l will be revolved and disposed in proper position to receivea maximum of beneiit from the wind; thus in their intermediate positionsbetween their position normal to the wind and their oppositepositionparallel to the wind the wind will have a pulling or pushingaction uponthe revoluble'frame.

Obviously, since the bevelled gear 28 is rigidly secured to sleeve 26,the several wings will be automatically and uniformly adjusted accordingto the position of the vane so that the wind will be received mostadvantageously. As the wind changes the position of the vane will ofcourse change and each of the several wings 2O will be automaticallyrevolved to compensate for the change in the wind. Gear 28 will then bemaintained in stationary position by the vane and the revolution of theframe about shaft 1l will cause the wings to revolve onehalf as fast bymeans of the mechanism hitherto described.

The gear mechanism engaging thev relatively stationary gear 26positively turns the wings in proper receiving position :so that therecan be no efficiency lost due to loosely swinging wings away from thewind.

The operation and function ofthe governing device has been clearlydescribed, and prevents the motor from exceeding al certainpredetermined speed.

It is of course Within the contemplation of the inventor that variousmeans may be employed in the vane blade forchanging the wind resistanceof the same with the speed of the motor, for instance, slidable shutterscould be operatively connected v'to the governing mechanism foraccomplishing the same results. i

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the applicanthas invented a simple, but highly efficient wind motor capable of beingmanufactured at comparatively little cost, which will. utilize the windwith an extremely high degree of eiliciency. The motor is applicabletolarge plants for irrigating purposes, or for generating and storingupv electrical current.

It Will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts without departingfrom the scope of the invention. Likewise it will of course beunderstood that a plurality of vertically aligned frames may be rigidlysecured to shaft ll or that sets of wingsmay be mounted on additionalarmsin vertical alignmentl with the wings thereabove, all within thescope of the invention.

lNhat is claimed is:

l. In a wind motor, a revoluble frame, a plurality of circumferentiallydisposed' wings mounted for independent rotation on said' frame withtheir axes substantially parallel with the axis of said frame, means forfeathering said wings, including a master gear co-axial with saidframe,a vane rigidly connected to'said master gear having a variablewind resistance, a governor rigidly connected with said frame, and meansconnecting said governor with said vane, whereby the wind resistancethereof maybe varied relatively to the speed of said frame.LV

2. In a wmd'motor, a. revoluble frame, a

. plurality of circumferentially disposed wings mounted for independentrotation on said frame with their axes substantially parallel with theaxis of said frame, means depen-dent upon the revolution of said framefor causing said wings to be rotated through one half a rotation forevery revolution of said frame, a vane connected to said means having avariable wind resistance, fly ball levers with the axis of said frame,means for feathering said wings, including a master gear co-axial withsaid frame adapted to cause said wings to rotate through one-half arotation for each revolution of said frame, a vane rigidly connectedtovsaid master gear having an oscillatory wind resisting surface pivotedon an axis extending' laterally to the axis of said vane, a governorconnected with said frame and means Connecting said governor with saidWind resisting surface,

posed Wings mounted for independent rotation on said trame with theiraxes substantially parallel With the axis ot said trame, means forfeathering said Wings, including a master gear co-aXial With said frameadapted to rotate said Wings through one halt' a rotation for everyrevolution of said frame, a eo-aXial driving shaft rigidly conneetedwith said frame, a vane mounted to osoillate on a 'portion of saiddriving shaft, said vane being rigidly connected with said master gear,said vane having a Wind resisting plate swingable on an axis radiallydisposed to said driving shaft, a governor oon-- neoted to said drivingshaft, and means ecoentrieally connected to said plate for tilting thesame to vary the Wind resistance according to the speed of said shaft.

5. A Wind motor comprising a revoluble traine, a wing mounted forindependent rotation on said trarne, having 'its axis disposed parallelto the axis of said frame, means for causing said Wing to rotate throughone-half a rotation for every revolution of said frame to expose saidWing to the Wind at the angle of greatest efieiency throughout thetravel of said frame, said Wing having reversely curved longitudinaledges, whereby the aotion of the Wind Will assist -in rotating saidWinO. Y

f 6. A Wind motor comprising a revoluble frame, a set ofoireumferentially spaced Wings mounted for independent rotation on saidtrarne With their axes substantially parallel with the axis of saidframe, said -Wings being successively set at the saine angle relativelyto each other, means for feathering said Wings, whereby each Wing willbe rotated through one-half a rotation for every revolution of saidframe, said Wings having reversely turned longitudinal edges, wherebythe action of the Wind Will assist the eat-hering thereof.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

OTTO J. NITARDY.

